The Evolution of an Air Force Major
by sophiedb
Summary: COMPLETE! Major Jacob Carter is having a hard time at his daughter's parent-teacher evening. R&R.
1. Parent Teacher Evening

Disclaimer: Stargate SG1 is not mine, and neither are the characters of Jacob, Samantha and Mark Carter. I also have no idea what Sam's mother was called, or when she died, but since Mark's daughter is named Katie I thought I'd make her a Kathryn. I also don't know how old Sam is, which might make certain attitudes in this fic a bit on the medieval side.. but then again it isn't a biological 'evolution' that I'm planning here, more of a mental one. The names and personalities of original characters in this piece bear no resemblance to anyone I know, honest cough and I don't even know whether American high schools have parent-teacher evenings like this! Other than that, this is my very first attempt at a fanfic and since I'm well out of school it's been donkeys years since I took any writing classes – please be gentle but ruthless!

* * *

It is a surprising fact that 99.9% of all parents are nervous about parent/teacher evening. For some it is because their little angels really are little monsters, and they know it – or because the parents were themselves and remember past punishments and arguments within school walls. Sometimes the kids are excruciatingly slow, or worse they are excruciatingly bright and use that intelligence for anything but study. There are other children who are just mediocre despite their proud parents' best hopes and intentions – or whose parents believe otherwise and hate the thought that they might be wrong. Finally there are the kids who are just plain perfect. Indeed, only some of their parents will make up the oh-so rare 0.01%, because equally surprising is the number of parents who – having achieved perfection – then dream of just a little line-crossing and rule-breaking, to prove that their child is also human.  
  
Jacob Carter was somewhere in the middle range. As he wandered through the school hall seeking the next teacher on his list, he wondered what the point of this bi-annual ritual really was. He knew that his son Mark was a good kid who studied as hard as anyone could expect from a sports-mad 16 year old, and that little Sammie wasn't quite the model student her teachers hoped, but what could he do about that? She was only 13 for crying out loud, plenty enough time to develop. He knew that there were plenty of brains in that girl's head for both of them, let alone himself, whether or not the teachers saw it. If they graduated high school they could go to college, and he harbored some hopes that Mark would follow him into the Air Force one day, and that Samantha would find a nice husband and settle down, but short of that why did he need an update on the kids' progress at school every few months?  
  
'Maybe it makes the teachers feel better,' he thought as he sat down in the waiting area next to Mr O'Leary's desk. 'They have to put up with other people's little blighters all week, so this way they can get their own back.' He'd already seen 6 teachers in all, hearing the same story each time: conscientious worker, could try harder, good marks overall. 'Only another 12 to go..'  
  
"Mr Carter?"  
  
'It's almost a shame that Sammie was born a girl,' his wandering thoughts continued blithely onwards, not noticing the teacher's voice. 'She'll run her own family like a Major, no doubt, and keep charge of every cent her husband earns.'  
  
"Mr Carter?"  
  
'Family responsibilities and 4 or 5 kids might be just enough to keep her from going stir crazy, but who knows – she's so mad about all her projects, she'd need something to keep her occupied.' Jacob smiled inwardly at the thought of grandchildren.  
  
"Major Carter? Sir?"  
  
"Yes?" Jacob turned to see a man about his own age in a tweed suit and khaki shirt, hair far wilder than would be allowed on any USAF base, with horn-rimmed glasses perched on a narrow nose. He noted idly that the man must be extremely near-sighted, since the lenses narrowed his eyes down to a tiny caricature of the norm. "Mr O'Leary is it? Right –"Jacob quickly stood up and moved over to the desk, "– let's get this over with. How is Mark doing this semester then?"  
  
"Mark?" The distant eyes behind the horn-rimmed glasses blinked rapidly, then looked down as the teacher shuffled through the papers in front of him. "No, I'm sorry Major – I'm not teaching Mark this year, he has Mr Shepparton for Math now. I teach young Samantha."  
  
It was Jacob's turn to blink now – Sammie was taking Advanced Math?


	2. Advanced Math!

Disclaimer – Stargate: SG1 and the Carter family are not mine, and the rest is just me having some fun, etc etc.  
  
Thank you for reviews!! Yay!! I have 2 whole reviews!  
  
steptreks – Andrew is a leftover from when I started and couldn't remember what Sam's brother was called, I thought I'd corrected all the names – oops, bad Soph!  
  
SG1-Fanfic – read and find out :)

* * *

Jacob tried to recover and pulled up a chair very quickly – other base personnel had kids at this school too, including one of his own airmen, so wobbling, babbling or looking like a stunned mullet was not an option. "So, erm, of course. My mistake. Of course Sammie is taking Advanced Math. Slipped my mind. Not causing to much trouble I hope?"  
  
O'Leary bounced brightly onwards, his eyes sparkling. "Oh no sir, not at all. Samantha shows surprising aptitude for advanced mathematics and I was very happy for her to join my class after seeing last year's work. If you don't mind me saying so, I find it a pleasure to teach your daughter."  
  
Jacob didn't quite know what to make of him, having never seen a teacher's pride in his star pupil before – neither of his kids had ever fit the bill until now.  
  
"Um, no problem!" His mind was moving rapidly, he didn't remember this, so she must have slipped it in with a school trip permission note or something. Hmm.. too smart for her own good that girl. "So, how's she doing?"  
  
As the teacher rattled on about this year's curriculum, Jacob scanned the appointment card for Sammie's teachers. The little minx had dropped Home Crafts _and_ Cooking in one go, substituting them with Advanced Math and Physics – what did she want to study Physics for?  
  
Suddenly a phrase tugged at his ear. "Sorry Mr O'Leary, could you repeat that?"  
  
"Of course Major," the teacher shrugged it off lightly – he was used to be tuned out at these sessions, it was as if the parents didn't really care how their kids were doing. "I was just saying that Samantha is handling her status as the only girl in the class very well. I believe she is also the only girl in Dr Cuthbertson's class also."  
  
"That would be Physics?" Jacob tried to claw back some sense of what was going on. As the Math teacher nodded, he noted that he would see Dr Cuthbertson in 15 minutes. 'Should have spotted that,' he chided himself. 'I knew Mark had dropped Physics as soon as he could get out of it.' What would Kathryn say if she was alive?  
  
"So all in all Sammie is doing well in your class?" He may as well find out if his daughter's secretive advances into male territory were successful or not.  
  
Mr O'Leary smiled, "Most certainly Major! She could be top of the class if she wanted to! But between you and me, I believe that she is biding her time wisely – some of the boys are none to happy to be trounced by a girl as often as is already the case. There is nothing wrong with her homework however, nor her grades – it is merely that she rarely speaks up in class. She could make a fine bookkeeper one day, or even an accountant if she wished."  
  
Jacob grunted assent and quickly picked up the report card to cover his continuing surprise. "Thanks, and see you next semester. Gotta be moving on now, you know how it is."  
  
It might well be the 70s, but Jacob was one dad who wasn't so keen on the idea of his daughter taking advanced Math and Physics just yet, and definitely didn't like the idea of her working in the not-distant-enough future, but if some club-wielding Neanderthal of a teenager was threatening his little girl he might just have to do something about it. It didn't sound like Sammie to keep quiet when she had answer or even a question, and that was God's honest truth. She took after Kathryn in that sense, bless his beloved dead wife's soul. But there'd be time to ponder more later – it was time for the next appointment.  
  
Shaking hands with Mr O'Leary, he crossed the hall to sit first with Miss Ellesmore (English Literature for both kids – the usual rundown), Mrs De Cuervo (Spanish – same again, with a warning against Mark's occasional use of 'rude words'.. the boy must be hanging around with Sgt Chavez's kids again) and finally to Dr Cuthbertson, who was still with another set of parents when he sat down to wait, but whose eyes glared directly towards the Major.  
  
'No need to ask how he feels about girls taking Physics then,' Jacob decided, suddenly feeling a little defensive. Sure, it might not be normal, but who had the right to tell Sammie what she could and could not study? If she was a bright student who listened and didn't make any trouble, what was this guy's complaint? 'Maybe she'll outshine him one day, ha!' 


	3. A disruptive student

Hi all – yes, I know that Jacob is a bit of a chauvinist at the moment (there will be a wake-up call), but this fic is designed to be in the mid-70s, i.e. 30 years ago. Definitely not today, where people are generally more sensible than sexist. Praise be to whatever non-snakeheaded gods are out there that certain parts of the world have moved on, maybe one day we'll succeed with the rest of the planet!

For now though, think _That 70s Show _– lots of suburban housewives, women who work being sympathised with as if it's a last resort rather than a free choice, and most men still thinking that it's their god-given duty to put bread and water on the table for all the family. I figured that a widowed Major who lives mainly on Air Force bases probably wouldn't have had to deal with any women's rights issues yet, since the poor man hasn't got a wifey to point out the truth to him.  
  
P.S. The character of Dr Cuthbertson is not intended offend any Texans, that's just the accent I heard in my head when he appeared! He is merely another obstacle along the road to creating Sam the wonder-physicist.

* * *

"Major Carter, I wish I could say that it was good to see you again."   
  
No matter how many times he met Dr Cuthbertson, Jacob could never get over just how strong his Texan accent still was despite 30 years away from that state. Jacob was almost willing to bet that he was wearing cowboy boots under the table, but in all the years since Mark had started at this high school he hadn't had a chance to see. He was now equally willing to bet that Cuthbertson's belief system had no niche for girls taking Physics. Well he was an Air Force Major, wasn't he? He could take the knocks, right?  
  
Plunging right on in, Jacob opened with: "Well I was looking forward to a nice chat about how well Sammie is doing, but obviously you have other ideas."  
  
"You allow your daughter to take Physics, in a class full of teenage boys and you expect me to be pleased?" The good doctor almost spluttered. "I have never seen something so preposterous in all my life, but the headmaster insisted that it continue. In my opinion, Samantha is not suitably equipped to take this class, and my students' grades are lower than average as a result of the extra time needed to explain matters."  
  
Jacob was taken aback. He didn't know what to say. After so many years of hearing the usual mantra – conscientious worker, could try harder, good marks overall – he had grown used to expect nothing less than a C at the very worst, and that was usually from Mark. His daughter might have chosen some unusual subjects for a girl, but even so..  
  
"You mean Sammie is failing?" His incredulity was so evident that the parents at the table next door turned round to see what all the noise was about.  
  
Dr Cuthbertson, however, seemed to be gearing up for a little more bluster.  
  
"My students do not fail, Mr Carter –"  
  
"Major. Not Mr."  
  
"– but I do not believe in progressing through the curriculum unless it is clear that every student has gained the knowledge needed to continue! It is counter-productive, and wastes time later on when we refer back to previous notes. As a result I am a whole chapter behind the usual timetable, and it can all be traced back to your daughter's disruptive influence!"  
  
Jacob was pretty sure that he could see flecks of froth bubbling between Dr Cuthbertson's lips by this point, and he sure as hell wasn't too happy about the man's jabbing forefinger. Not a happy bunny then.  
  
"So Mr Cuthbertson –"  
  
"Doctor, if you please!"   
  
"- how exactly is Sammie disrupting the class?"  
  
"Didn't you hear a word I said? It is very time-consuming to go over these matters again and again with yourself as well as with you daughter in the class room." A small blob of spittle flew on to the desk. Jacob shuddered. "I have to repeat myself time and time again to get the teaching across; experiments take far longer than they should do; and she insists upon completing her homework by using different theories to those that should be used at this stage of the curriculum."  
  
The finger wasn't jabbing at his face any more, it was curled in a fist and thumping the desk, but Jacob thought he might of caught something right at the end there.  
  
"But does she get it right?"   
  
"Excuse me?" The red-faced teacher seemed exasperated.   
  
Jacob fought the urge to roll his eyes. 'And I thought the Air Force was set in its ways..'


	4. Questions, questions, questions

Thank you for the lovely reviews, and apologies for the short chapters.. this fic is almost complete (on my harddrive), but I can't seem to stop fiddling with it!

* * *

Major Carter decided that he wasn't in the mood for small talk any more. The military dealt with straight answers, not bluster, and this frothing bezerker imitation in a plaid suit was an A-grade case of pure bluster. Then again, the physics teacher seemed a little lost for words right now. Time to lay it all out for the good Doctor in plain English, before he got his second wind.  
  
"One. You say that Sammie uses different theories to those you've been teaching to do her homework. Did she get the answers right or not?"  
  
"Well, yes she did, for the most part, but –"  
  
"I haven't finished yet!" It was Jacob's turn, and he was going to have his say – even if a few heads were turning toward the sound of his raised voice. "Do experiments take longer because Sammie doesn't understand, or because she's trying out more of these theories?"  
  
The teacher drew himself up in indignation. "Not at all! She questions the very method that underlies our practical teaching! Her comments that variables have not been accounted for properly, measurements of mass, velocity, voltage and so on are not accurate enough.. it is simply maddening! There is no other way to conduct Physics teaching in a public high school!"  
  
Jacob ducked a fleck of spittle and paused for a moment.  
  
"Ok, so she's opening her mouth and questioning your experiments, but her complaints are simply that the inputs and outputs aren't being measured adequately?"  
  
"Yes! And –"  
  
"And this wastes time, but brings up important issues that future physicists should remember years down the track when you're not there to remind them?"  
  
Dr Cuthbertson was taken aback. "Well yes, in a sense, but there is a limit to how much time we can spend on these failings. I too would prefer a perfect laboratory, but the funding simply is not there. The majority of these boys will never be physicists as it is, and their age and curriculum requires only an understanding of the principles at this stage."  
  
"And girl."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"You said 'these boys will not be physicists', but you also have a girl in your class, remember?" Jacob was leaning back on his chair now, quietly eyeing up the parents now waiting their turn with Dr Cuthbertson. He would have to wrap this one up quickly.  
  
"Physics has rarely been a female pursuit, Major Carter, and I have always maintained that it is an unsuitable occupation for women."  
  
"What about Marie Curie, and that woman who helped out the DNA guys?" Jacob wasn't going to let this one lie now. All he could see right now was that Sammie had done nothing wrong, and this guy with the cowboy boots was insisting otherwise. The fact that he still had doubts about whether she should take Physics was a completely different matter at this point - or maybe he was simply trying to avoid an internal debate with his own conscience by covering it up with a self-righteous argument with someone else.

"Rosalind Franklin? Well yes, there have been some notable exceptions to the rule, but they truly are exceptions. It's not simply the work you see, it's the conditions!"  
  
"Conditions?" Jacob was bemused. He'd seen a few labs in his time, and they weren't too bad. "I wouldn't call an air conditioned laboratory bad – I reckon some of the Air Force scientists get far better 'offices' than mine, very spacious in fact!"  
  
Dr Cuthbertson leaned forwards to reply. "How many of those scientists are female, Major Carter? None? I thought so. And so, regardless of how spacious the accommodation may be – and I'm sure these must be lucky scientists to receive such funding – do you really wish to see you daughter working in male-dominated laboratories for the rest of her life?"


	5. For the best?

Disclaimer: Stargate SG1 and the Carter family have nothing to do with me other than being pretty pictures on a tv set. Oh yes, and please forgive Jacob for a potential backslide in this chapter - he's only human at this point (literally - yes, bad pun, I know..).

Thanks for all reviews!! You're lovely.. maybe I should start thinking up something to write next. Considering I work on an industrial estate with nowhere to go at lunchtime, this is proving to be a lot more fun than listening to the trucks go by! :)

Btw I saw Starship Troopers again this weekend, now wasn't that a classic bit of stilton?? Spot your fave Tok'ra right there, producing some of the world's cheesiest lines with a straight face. "They sucked his brains out." Hehehehehehehehe...

* * *

Finally the teacher had hit a cord. Defending his little girl was one thing, but the suggestion that she might want to work in a lab someday – a lab full of men – had taken him unawares. It was even worse than O'Leary's comment that Sammie might make a good accountant! What father – what future husband? – could possibly think that this was a good idea? His mind was reeling, and he suddenly wished even more desperately that Kathryn was here beside him. To borrow a phrase he'd heard at the base: this did not compute. Studying was one thing, working was still another.

'But he wouldn't have mentioned the possibility unless he thought she was good enough! Remember that gleam in O'Leary's eye too,' whispered a little voice in his head, slicing through the old-fashioned self-righteousness of his gut reaction.

Clinging to this one bright thought, Jacob tried one last shot at the Physics teacher.

"So she's good then? Good enough to actually be a career scientist someday?"

Dr Cuthbertson clasped his hands together on the desk. "Major Carter, I have only known your daughter for one semester and am unable to predict the future. She does have a great deal of ability, in fact she has achieved almost straight A's, but she is also is very cautious. Sometimes I do not know whether she is questioning points because she really does not understand them, or because she is worried about her classmates. The boys see Physics as a male preserve you see, as I'm sure that you do, and they also see a girl who is alone on their territory. I do not wish to paint that picture any further, but let me say that even the so-called 'nerd' of the class now has a victim to bully. Normally I try to guide and encourage my straight-A students, but I am unsure how realistic this would be for Samantha, given her situation."

Jacob suddenly received a flash of insight. This man had once been the nerd of the class, but had found a way to turn his skill into a basis for authority rather than victimisation. He might even have served in Vietnam and lost a few men, which might have added to this sudden protective attitude. Dr Cuthbertson's take on what was best for his students was what was driving this conversation, and Jacob was torn between joining him and standing up for his tomboy daughter.

To his credit, Dr Cuthbertson had fallen silent for a moment, ignoring the other parents' agitated noises as the waited for their turn. When he saw that Jacob had nothing to say just yet, he continued.

"Ability aside, I am aware that my advice may not be welcome. We have yet to see whether Samantha has the makings of a true scientist, and even if she does this would be a long and difficult path for a woman even today. I can pinpoint her as the source of disruption in my class not only because she learns by questioning while the boys seem happy to simply absorb, but because her femininity disturbs the boys – who, I shouldn't have to remind you, are entering puberty. Imagine how pronounced this might become if she took a path through academia!"

Jacob remained silent, uncertain of how to respond. Dr Cuthbertson was talking about a 13-year-old girl, but he obviously wanted to explain the bare facts, as he saw them, to a doting father. Maybe he needed them, even if they were taking this question of her current studies to its furthest possibilities, and the unspoken fact was that Jacob had no wife who could advise him on the details of a woman's 'world' or serve as a role model for Sammie.

"Carry on Doctor, what else?"

A sigh, a nervous tap of fingers against desk, while the parent-teacher evening continued around them. "As hard as she may try, even if Samantha has the makings of a top class scientist she may be faced with an bleak future. She could dedicate her life to science, but receive little or no thanks from her overwhelmingly male colleagues. An all-girls high school might provide a better learning environment for now – if there are any nearby that teach Physics – but this would not change the potential difficulties at college and beyond. Research assistantships are relatively rare as well as poorly paid – making doctoral studies very expensive – and it can take years for any scientist to gain funding for their own research."

Dr Cuthbertson paused for a moment to shake his head. His tone was still that of a firm schoolmaster, but he hoped that this parent recognised his implied compassion for what it was. Samantha was an able student, but as a teacher he honestly saw no point in raising the girl's hopes and subjecting her to years of male antipathy.. and he saw no hypocrisy in his self-fulfilling prophecy.

"Rosalind Franklin fought through all of this 20 years ago, and while she may well have made some of the breakthroughs that made it possible to identify DNA, she still missed out on the Nobel Prize. Very little has changed since then, even in the United States. I know of no government-funded studies being conducted by a woman at this moment in time – though I admit there may be a few in the private sector. It could be a fruitless, frustrating venture for a talented young woman to hit a brick wall time and time again, for no other other reason than her sex."

Jacob held his face as one would a mask. He needed time to think, because this wasn't just a question of Sammie taking Physics and Advanced Math any more. Dr Cuthbertson's words had set off a string of alarms in his brain, and while the man carried on and on about the dangers of 'a life in physics', Jacob was still stuck in the rut of 'a life doing anything other than getting married and raising children.'

The phantom grandchildren had run away long ago, and the distressed father realised that he had never really asked Sammie what she wanted from life, supposing that she even knew – he had simply assumed. Maybe it would be hard for her to find a husband who would be supportive her career, if she chose to have one, but what right did he have to limit any of her choices at such an early age? She had already chosen to drop Home Crafts and Cooking already so maybe she wasn't planning on following the normal pattern of womanhood. It could be teenage pigheadedness, but it might also be a life decision.

Rather than continuing the debate and holding up yet more parents eager to go home as soon as possible, he stood silently, offered his hand to Dr Cuthbertson and looked at the appointment card. Mr Shepparton, Mark's Math teacher.

"Thank you for your time, sir," he said automatically. "It's good to know that Sammie is doing well enough in any case. I'll be thinking on your words."


	6. The Long Drive Home

Disclaimer: Stargate: SG1 and the Carter family are the figments of other people's imaginations, which I enjoy very much but do not own in any way, shape or form.

Thanks again to all reviewers, you're a bunch of stars! Hopefully you'll stay with me to the end, but who knows.. and one day soon hubby and I will move into a flat with our very own broadband, so I can read everyone else's stories in peace! lol

Oh yes, and speaking of hubby - he has pointed out that the actor in Starship Troopers who I thought was the actor who plays Jacob Carter, is not the same person at all. For once, he was right :p Must have been the alcoholic fuzzy stuff addling my brain!

* * *

Carefully placing his feet one before the other, Jacob moved two tables down to see Mr Shepparton. He barely took in their conversation about his boy, nodding numbly at suitable moments, and noting in a remote corner of his brain that Shepparton had none of the same sparkle that O'Leary had when speaking about Sammie. Either this teacher was a lot more blasé about his students, or Mark just didn't get on in Math as well as Sammie did. It was a funny old world all right.

The Air Force Major drifted through the remainder of his appointments in a similar fashion. He collected report cards as appropriate – some teachers had been waiting for final marks before issuing grades – became even better acquainted with the phrase 'conscientious worker', and generally tried to make sense of the continuing turmoil in his mind.

'At least both kids seem to be doing ok at school,' Jacob reminded himself on his way out, before narrowly missing a red light. He shook his head in absolute amazement that he could be so troubled by all of this, but then realized that it had been staring at him in the face her whole life. Sammie was smart, and both he and his wife had noticed her brightness when she was a tiny baby, but he had never joined up the dots to realize what that might mean for her in the long run. Ability. Ambition. Career? What ever it was, she'd obviously felt it necessary to plough on ahead while hiding it from him, her father – and that hurt even more.

Kathryn had always been a bright spark herself, and he suddenly found himself remembering the time when he first met her and she lamented the waste of all those years she'd spent at school. "What's the point of learning trigonometry when the only math left to me is the grocery bill?" she'd say. Maybe he'd missed the point with his own wife as well, let alone his precious daughter. Had being a wife and mother been enough for her? Some women did work, but it was just expected that they would drop all such activities once kids were born. The only exceptions he could think of were those who couldn't afford _not_ to work, which in turn shamed their husbands.

Jacob didn't even notice his lack of consideration for unmarried women. He didn't know any, so it didn't even cross his mind, but the thought that he might have been a barrier to his own wife's happiness began to stab a small hole in his resolve. Their marriage had been a good one, of that he was certain, but now he remembered all the times when Kathryn had helped Mark with his homework – it had all been simple stuff, but was she just lending her son a hand, or feeding some unfulfilled part of her soul that not even her husband had noticed? The possibility left him somewhat numb. Maybe it wasn't the norm for a wife and mother to work, but this was _his_ wife and _his_ daughter he was thinking out, not statistics, and he loved them both.

He himself had joined the Air Force because he had originally felt it to be his duty. The country had just been pulled through a horrendous war, in which his own father had flown, fought and died. It certainly wasn't for the potential glory – Lord knows the training camp beat that out of you. Jacob knew that he was good at his job and he loved it, even if he was more of a desk jockey these days, and he had a wonderful pair of kids to come home to each night. He had, unfortunately, lost his beloved wife while the kids were young, and things had been tough for all of them since then. Kathryn had been their anchor, and her death had damaged all of them. There had even been a time when he thought he'd lost the kids' love, in their silent anger and resentment that he had survived where she had not.

'She would be so proud if she was here now,' he thought in misery. 'She'd have a good word for Sammie, she'd know how to make it right..'

And the fact was that Jacob knew that he would not have been happy to sit at home and look after the kids if his place had been switched with Kathryn's. He loved his kids, but he also loved getting away to the base and stretching his abilities to keep his section running smoothly. It was the challenge and variety that kept him keen at work, not just the fact that it put bread and water on the table. Men who didn't enjoy work were expected to get on and work anyway, and women did have important duties at home, however liberated their husbands might be – but.. He couldn't complete the thought. He wanted Sammie to be happy, but if she was showing her independent will to be so contrary to the norm already, well, he had no idea whether to support her or set her on the 'straight and narrow'. Maybe she didn't even want to get married one day, maybe..

As he parked the car and took out his briefcase, the door opened to reveal Sammie in her pyjamas. A sight for sore eyes, even if she was making his head hurt right now.

"Hi Daddy," she said tentatively, then gave such a shy smile that his heart melted. What can one man do against his little girl?

'Not so little after all,' he reminded herself as he hugged her. 'I can't pick up a teenager, and she's still growing.'

"Hello, my little physicist," he said, hugging her in return.


	7. The Way Forward

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even a home and certainly not that Yamaha FZS 600 I've been drooling over for months. If I had come up with something as fantastic as Stargate you'd know about it, and I would own these things, but someone else got there first :)

Cheers to all reviewers - Ben & Jerry's Phish Food to all of you!! Yum yum. This is the last chapter.. kind of.. there's an epilogue too.

* * *

The next day Jacob sat down at the table, which had been nicely laid out for breakfast, and sipped his coffee. After a moment's thought, he indicated that his daughter and her glass of milk should join him. She'd been hovering around the edge of the room, her eyes wavering from side to side as if she didn't want to meet his gaze – a lot like an Airman waiting for a disciplinary hearing.

"So Sammie, what did you and Mark do while I was at your school last night?" he asked, innocently.

Her eyes wide, the girl replied that Mark hadn't moved an inch from his desk because he and Dave had bought some parts for the computer and had been trying to 'program' it, whatever that meant, and Mrs Martinez had insisted that she help her bake a cake rather than reading the National Geographic. The look on Sammie's face showed just how keen she'd been on that idea.

"The cake's in the pantry Daddy, so we can have it later if you want," she finished, smiling brightly.

'Maybe she's remembered how much I like Mrs Martinez's cakes..' Jacob mused. 'Sweetening the old man up eh?'

"Sounds good sweetheart, sounds good," he replied, "but right now we should be getting on."

Jacob drank the last of his coffee and stood up, thumping the mug down on the table with a slight grin, then pretended to glare at his daughter.

"You're not properly dressed you know," he commented, drawing another wide-eyed look of shock from a confused Sammie.

"What –?"

"Come on now, if you want to help me fix that motorcycle up you'll be needing some old clothes – don't you think?"

Samantha blinked. "Motorcycle? You want me to help you? Not Mark?"

"Come on, you know your brother wasn't at all interested when I asked him that one time. He didn't last 5 minutes. But I need a pair of hands and you're my only alternative." His stern expression was transformed by a small wink and a smile. "That and I hear that you study Physics, so you might even be able to explain a few things to an old fly-boy like me."

"You – you mean you're not mad at me?"

The grin faded a little. "I didn't say I wasn't mad at you, little miss, because I was quite offended by your secrecy. Please, don't pull the wool over my eyes like that again – I'm not that much of an ogre am I?"

A slight shake of the head and downcast eyes suggested that maybe he was, at least some of the time, so he took a deep breath and continued.

"Ok, so I am no replacement for your mother – I know that, and though I will keep trying as best I can, I know that we will always honour her memory because she can never ever be replaced. Therefore, I promise to support you in all your future endeavours – _within reason! _– and that I shall not stay mad if you put those theories of yours into practice and help me get this motorcycle running again. Understood?"

Her expression went from sad to confused, and finally to that of a child reprieved. "Um, yessir! Sir, yes, sir!"

The girl jumped up with a level of energy that her father truly envied, ran up the stairs with all the formality of an elephant, then rolled back down only a few seconds later in some dirty old pants and a grubby t-shirt. She even had an old hanky tied round her neck, just like her old man.

And with that Jacob's mind was made up. Whatever Sammie wanted to do with her life was her decision. He would try to give her guidance if and when she needed it, and would attempt to restrain any old fashioned ideas until he'd examined them as thoroughly as he had this one. There would probably hurdles – big and small – but they would come to then in time, jumping or bulldozing their way through. Physics might even turn out to be a short-term fad, but it was still early days. He might throw in a few self-defence classes though, in case of disrespectful men folk. Whatever happened though, he couldn't afford to lose Samantha or Mark like he had Kathryn – one loss was already too much, and he couldn't bear the thought of this bright child being stifled by tradition all her life.

His daughter was bright, and she was going to go far – maybe even into one of those air-conditioned labs at the Air Force, designing new planes. Maybe even flying them. Or wherever she felt like.

Jacob had to have a last chuckle at that thought. "This could be interesting.."

End note: Yes, I have turned Jacob into a touchy feely dad rather than a "do as you're told!" sort of dad. They seem to be on too good terms in the series to do otherwise, but I figured he might have been a little more traditional once upon a time. Might try a sequel sometime.. Sam in college maybe?? We'll see :)


	8. Epilogue

This is the end of the line for this fic, thank you to all who have read and especially to those who've reviewed! Now that I know how nice it is to read reviews I'll be doing a lot more of it myself.

Disclaimer: as per usual, the concept of Stargate and its characters are still not mine and there is no chance of me making a profit from this mindless rambling from my overactive imagination :)

* * *

Sam strolled down the steps at an easy pace, trying to remember when she'd last been inside a high school. The thought made her feel old, almost as old as she'd felt when referring to 'Top Gun' as a classic Air Force movie just a few minutes ago, and seeing their blank faces. She wasn't that past it, was she? The school bell certainly sounded the same, as did the mad rush of kids changing classes – though as one shoved his way past her she was sure her classmates hadn't been so _rude_.

"Thanks Major."

Sam turned to see that the student who had invited her to take part at the top of the stairs, Jonathon O'Neill. The inflections and tone of voice remained with him, despite the more youthful pitch, but while she recognised the voice she still had trouble reconciling the younger face with that of _her_ Colonel.

"No problem, Sir," she returned. "Any time."

Jon knew that her smile, though brilliant as ever, was not quite the mega-watt smile that Samantha Carter was known for. He'd caught a trace of insecurity in her voice when a female student had asked her about sex discrimination in the armed forces earlier, something he'd rarely detected before, so maybe that was the problem. In the SGC there wasn't a single Airman who didn't know about Major Carter's brilliance both in combat and as a scientist, but he was willing to bet that this hadn't always been the case.

"I mean it Carter, thanks," and he did. "I see these kids every day and none of them has a clue what to do with themselves. I have to watch myself in case I start doing an impression of my dad, lecturing them about the ways of the big, bad world – though I'm just as lazy with my homework as I ever was, and the teachers can't seem to get their heads around my sarcasm."

Sam had to laugh. Jack O'Neill, world-weary Colonel of innumerable black-ops missions and off-world assignments, saviour of Earth several times over, was now relegated to a locker full of schoolbooks. "Well, my dad never did the lecturing thing – at least not much. It would be hard to take from a kid though."

Pleased that he had broken the tension, Jon dropped his schoolbag for a moment and sat down on the rapidly clearing steps. No one would be listening, and though he was due for the next class he could wriggle out of a visit to the Principal if need be.

"They haven't managed to find a competition fisherman to come do a talk yet. I specifically requested one! I may as well try something different this time round, don't you think? I could be a stealth angler, or maybe a trout whisperer.."

"I think that those teenage hormones may have gone to your head, Colonel – and anyway, I thought it wasn't about the fish," Sam retorted gently. "Do you really think you'll take a different career? You'd blow them away at the Academy!"

"Ha!" Jon laughed bitterly. "Don't I know it – but I'm not cut out to be a wunderkind. My outspoken opinions are getting me into enough trouble at school for crying out loud! There's no point in rushing ahead of the class as far as I'm concerned, especially since I've tried it before. It's weird, but part of me is starting thank Loki... I'd nearly done the Air Force to death, so maybe it's time for a change. I even have a trust fund set away, courtesy of Thor."

He stopped, suddenly realising that Carter was silent and deep in thought. "What gives, Sam?"

The use of her first name seemed to bring the Major around.

"Something you said. Quite a few things, in fact." Sam weighed up how best to put this. "I never really considered another career since I joined the Air Force, though it took me a while to come to that decision in the first place. It was more a case of where my studies took me, and I obviously knew a lot about the USAF from Dad so it just seemed to flow from there. I don't think that I could do anything different if I tried."

Jon couldn't help but see the irony that he, as a teenager, had made the amazing Carter 'think' – but he could see her point.

"Carter, I was never really given a choice. I had that much trouble with authority that I was practically thrown into the Air Force, and what do you know – I was good at it. But I'm not the same person now, and I've seen things that no person with 60 years left to dwell on them should have seen." The sigh alone was weighted with words unsaid, bringing memories back to both of them. "The first time round though, neither my school nor my family gave me much of a chance – they didn't see any other way back then."

Sam saw his point and reflected, amazed that yet again he'd shone a new perspective on her life's path. "You know, that's not at all what I thought you'd say. It took me years to convince my professors and the dean that I was worthy of the chance to study Astrophysics at college, and I kept hitting the same wall when I joined the Air Force. At least I was always doing what I wanted though, and Dad supported me every step of the way. I like to think that it was all worth it because I wouldn't change my job for the world, but I always thought of it as being women against the male-dominated system – I never really considered that you guys might have bounced off a few walls too."

There was silence from Jonathon, and apart from the rustling of the trees all Sam could hear was the teacher in the class next door starting his lesson with a roll call.

"You're lucky Carter, to have a supportive father." Jon meant every word. "I hate to admit it, but I have seen women with less backbone being effectively flogged out of the military – never physically, but I guess it's almost verbal and mental warfare from day one. Am I right?"

A nod confirmed this. "It varies, but you get to know the open-minded ones from the traditionalists. Thankfully the balance is a lot more enlightened these days, but when that girl asked me about sex discrimination it just reminded me of how bad things had been until I joined the SGC."

"Then you did have it bad," Jon grinned ruefully. "See I got a bit of a flogging too, but it was always for something I'd done – not for what I was. I probably deserved it, most of the time. You, on the other hand, are a tribute to your own achievement. And Jacob was on to a good thing when he chose the open-minded path – obviously he had an epiphany long before the pet snake came along."

Sam swatted his sleeve with a chuckle. "Don't talk about Selmak like that! Anyway, I don't know about an epiphany, but I do remember Dad being hurt when I hid the fact that I'd dropped Cooking and Home Crafts for Math and Physics. I just opened up and told him everything after I realised he wasn't going to get mad, and he was great. Not always straight away, but he'd always pull through for me in the end. At least he got to be a granddad on Mark's side though – he always said that was the only aspect I'd let him down on!"

"There's no accounting for taste, is there?" Jon looked down, thinking of Charlie and concealing the pain by staring at his watch. "And speaking of Physics, I had best be off," Jon grimaced and stood up, brushing dust off his pants. "I have Dr Cuthbertson this period, and while he sounds a lot like George Hammond there is no other resemblance. I think I'll have to play the 'I haven't seen Aunt Samantha for months' card to get out of detention this time!"

Major Carter gave him a quick hug and smiled that smile he'd been waiting for. Teenage hormones were a bad thing at a time like this, but he was grateful for the chance to see Carter at all – and that was probably one of the more meaningful conversations they'd ever had over the years.

"I don't want to be keeping you then. Hey, and good luck with the fishing!"

Jon gave her a wink, turned and ran down the hall to the science block, leaving Sam to continue her interrupted journey down the steps. Then she stopped, as something clicked. This wasn't her old school, but...

"_Dr Cuthbertson?!"_

* * *

Yes, I had to chuck that one in there. Call it my daft sense of humour!

So - The End. Honest. Nothing more to see here. Move along, quick smart! Ok then, hang around and read my next story! Yes, the overactive imagination strikes again... Take a look in TV Crossovers why don't you... I have Sam Beckett coming through the Stargate :)


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